Re: 3244 to Spectrum (40W head)
From what I know this upgrade is not available anymore (probably competing with Approval). Very few spectrums are being built now - mostly refurbished. It used to be expensive - beside the proof loading section, involves a specially tuned laser and a vacuum pump. A few years ago I think it was around 30-35k. For this price you may find an used one today in pretty good shape.
Best proof quality given the use of the same laser that burns the plate, expensive media.
Main problem is static - you need controlled humidity around 50% to run it reliably. Clean room environment recommended as dust particles are causing hot spots, especially on Fuji media.
Laser life is variable, depending on power usage which is a factor of the media used and machine speed. I would say it should last in average around 5000 hours. I think the record on a Creo Thermal head is around 18,000 hours.
When buying an used machine advertised as xxxx hours, I recommend anyone to have someone qualified to check it. When the laser is getting weak, to avoid banding and other issues the number of pixels can be reduced (length of swath). In this case, if the machine was under service contract, the laser power may have been increased to maintain the performance, which will accelerate the laser degradation.
